It was the next morning and Rose woke up to find her room empty. Didn't Jack stay with her last night? Was it a dream? Oh no, she must have been going nuts. She must have dreamt that Jack returned to her and that he was alive. Rose pulled her knees up to her chest and started to cry.

Her cries grew louder and louder. Finally, she heard footsteps approaching the door. The door opened, and Jack was standing in the doorway. She stopped crying, then saw Jack and cried again. "Rose, what's wrong?"

"You-you can't do that again," said Rose, still crying.

"Do what, sweetheart?" Jack sat down next to Rose and put his arm around her and pulled her closer.

"You can't just leave. I thought… I thought I dreamt that you came back to me. I thought you were dead," said Rose crying.

"Shh," Jack comforted her. "It's okay. I'm here. I promise." Jack kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "And I'm never leaving you again."

Rose looked at Jack with tears still in her eyes. She leaned in and gave him a long, luxurious kiss. "I love you."

Jack smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you too."

"Is Josie up?" Rose asked.

"Yes, we were planning on leaving for the softball game in a few minutes, but I'll stay with you," said Jack.

"No, you have to go with Josie. She was counting on this." Rose gave Jack another kiss. "Go. I'll see you later."

"See you later," said Jack. "Also, Josie wanted me to tell you to meet us at Luke's at twelve."

"Okay, I will," said Rose. She gave Jack an extra kiss before he left.

Jack went downstairs, where Josie was waiting. "Ready to go?"

"I'm ready," said Josie.

They left and walked to the softball field, where Dean was playing. He waved at Josie and she waved back. He left the game and came over to Josie. "Hi, Josie."

"Hey, Dean," said Josie with a smile. "Dean, this is my dad."

Dad, Jack thought to himself. He was overjoyed to be Josie's dad. "Hi, I'm Dean," said Dean, with an outstretched hand.

Jack shook his hand. "Jack," he said, introducing himself.

Someone on the field had called Dean back. "I have to go. It was nice meeting you."

Jack and Josie sat on the bleachers. "So that's your boyfriend."

Josie smiled. "Yeah, he is. You're not going to go all dad protective type on me, are you?" Josie asked.

Jack laughed. "No, don't worry," said Jack. "So tell me, how long have you two been together?"

"Three months," said Josie.

"Wow," said Jack. "Well, I like him. He seems nice."

Josie laughed. "He is." Jack and Josie watched some of the softball game, before Josie was bored. She looked at her watch. "Want to go?"

"Do you?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I want to show you around the town, take you on a tour," said Josie. "Since we clearly figured out yesterday that I have a talent for tours."

Jack laughed. "Let's go."

Jack and Josie walked around the town. She showed him where everything was. They walked past Luke's. "This is Luke's," said Josie. "We eat here practically every day. And we're going to meet Mom here later."

They continued walking and Josie continued pointing out different stores in town. "By the way, I'm sorry," said Jack, looking at Josie.

"For what?" Josie asked.

"For missing the last sixteen years. If I had any idea your mom was alive, or that you existed, I would have been here."

"I know. But you're here now, so that's good too."

Jack had a question that he didn't really want to ask, but he wanted to know the answer. "Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Of course," said Josie.

"Did you have a good childhood? Was it bad since I wasn't there? I know that sounds like a silly question but-"

"It's not a silly question," said Josie. "I loved my childhood. Mom was always amazing an amazing mom. She never made me do anything I didn't want to do, and she considered us equals. She never made me feel like I was just some kid that bore a resemblance to someone that she once loved. And she always tried to hide the fact that she was still heartbroken about you."

"But of course, you knew."

"Yeah, I did," said Josie. "And there were some things that I had to deal with that other kids didn't, but I didn't mind."

"Like what?" Jack asked.

"Like, I always worried about going off to college and leaving Mom all alone. I always worried about sleeping at a friend's and leaving her alone. I mean, she never let me know that she needed me, but I knew she did. And every year on the anniversary of your death, when she used to just sit at home and do nothing but cry, all I could do was sit with her. I just felt helpless." Josie looked over at Jack, who looked like he felt awful. "I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad. I'm telling you this to let you know, I'm really glad you're here. I really missed my dad, and I need you."

"And I promise, I will be here for you. I've missed out on enough of your life, but I'm here now. I know I can't make up for the last sixteen years, but I'm going to try." Jack looked into the store window. "Starting now."

Jack went inside and Josie followed. "What are you doing?"

Jack smiled. "I'm going to buy you a book. The book of your dreams. Whatever book you want, and it's yours."

Josie looked at Jack in awe. He was already so amazing to her. "Well, that would be the compact Oxford English dictionary. But it's super expensive, and heavy."

Jack looked over at the guy behind the desk. "Excuse me, one compact Oxford English dictionary please."

Jack and Josie went to the front desk to pay. "Are you sure about this?"

Jack smiled. "It's about time I started taking care of my daughter."

Josie gave Jack a hug. "Thank you," she said. She dropped her bag on the floor.

"I got it," said Jack. He picked up her bag. "Wow, this thing weighs a ton. What do you have in there?"

"Well, I have lip gloss, my wallet, a house key, a book-"

"A book?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," said Josie with a smile. "I never leave home without one."

Jack laughed. "Josie, I'm starting to agree with your mom. This really is a sickness."

"Oh well. I'm a book addict."

Jack smiled at picked up the dictionary. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather a car? They weigh about the same." Josie smiled in response. Then, they walked to Luke's to meet Rose.

"Hi guys," said Rose. She was sitting with a cup of coffee, reading a newspaper. "What did you do this morning?"

Jack gave Rose a quick kiss and sat down. "Well, we watched the softball game, and then Josie gave me a tour of the town."

"Then we went to the bookstore and he bought me the compact Oxford English dictionary," Josie beamed.

"Jack that's amazing of you," said Rose. "But you could have just slipped her a crisp twenty."

Josie gasped. "Mom, Luke changed the specials menu."

"Oh my god, you're right! He did!"

"The breakfast burrito was up there since I was born."

Rose pet Josie's arm. "You just gotta let that go now, sweetie," she said jokingly. "'The special omelet'. What's the special omelet?"

Luke walked over to the table. "Ready to order?"

"Pancakes please," said Josie.

"Same for me," said Jack.

Rose turned to Luke. "What's the special omelet?"

"You wouldn't like it," said Luke.

"How do you know that I wouldn't like it?" Rose asked.

"Because I serve you every day."

"Well, I want to know what it is," Rose said.

Luke sighed. "It's an omelet with spinach, onions, and cheddar cheese."

"Well, I'll have the special omelet," said Rose. "Except I'd like to make it egg white instead, and no spinach, and mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar."

"So it's an egg white omelet with onions and mozzarella cheese." Luke said.

"Oh, then no onions," said Rose.

"So it's an egg white omelet with mozzarella cheese." Rose nodded. Luke glared at Rose. "You did this on purpose didn't you?"

Rose smiled. "Yes I did."

Luke left and then returned a moment later. "Josie, you have a phone call," he said. "Why are you telling people to call you here?"

"I didn't," said Josie as she took the phone. "Hey, Dean… really?… well I feel bad I forgot… okay… I'll ask… I'll let you know… bye."

"What was that about?" Rose asked.

"I'm going out with Dean tonight," said Josie. "So you guys are on your own."

Rose looked at Jack. "Let's do something fun. Let's go out for dinner. I know a place."

Jack smiled and kissed Rose's cheek. "That sounds great. What's the occasion with Dean?" he asked Josie.

"It's our three month anniversary," said Josie.